


Venom

by VideoGameImagines



Category: Metal Gear, Metal Gear Solid (Video Games), Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Tumblr Fic, Tumblr Prompt, request
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-05
Updated: 2016-04-05
Packaged: 2018-05-31 10:40:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6467047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VideoGameImagines/pseuds/VideoGameImagines
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt Request: was for a Big Boss X Reader which I am going to set during the events of The Phantom Pain; so this in other words would be a Punished “Venom” Snake X Reader. The request was for a story in which the reader is a soldier on the mother base who ends up falling for Big Boss.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Venom

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everybody! I am back with another request this one is from fandom-child16 for the Metal Gear Solid series. The request was for a Big Boss X Reader which I am going to set during the events of The Phantom Pain; so this in other words would be a Punished “Venom” Snake X Reader. The request was for a story in which the reader is a soldier on the mother base who ends up falling for Big Boss. Also in regards to the title, I know it’s weird, but I feel this title ended up being better (and less of a mouthful) compared to the original title. Also the reader, or you, will have a code name (forgive me if it’s stupid but character names are not one of my strengths) so the reader will be referred to as Tempest. Warning: There will be depictions of violence in this story, be warned before you read it, some scenes might be graphic. I also may have stretched the timeline a bit to add time between missions (to give time to establish characters and relationships). Disclaimer: I do not own the Metal Gear Solid franchise. As always I hope I did the prompt justice and I hope that you all enjoy it! (Side note: Y/N= your name/first name L/N= last name)

Deep breath in and hold it… then let it go as you pull the trigger; at this point you were akin to a well-oiled machine when on the battlefield. You lowered your sniper rifle as you watched the guard along the watch tower slump over and the searchlight skewed upwards toward the darkened sky. You dragged yourself out of the shadows and made your way across the dry Afghanistan desert. You had an innate skill when it came to stealth and you found it remarkably easy to slip into the ranks of enemy soldiers and take them out without risking detection. Your work as a soldier usually entailed extraction missions, reconnaissance, and anything that required you to fly under the radar.  
You tapped your communicator and spoke lowly into the receiver, “This is Tempest, heading into the eye of the storm; and going dark.” You were obligated to let your company know that you would be turning off your communicator and wouldn’t be responding to incoming transmissions. You waited for confirmation before powering your communicator off and proceeding further into the base. According to your briefing and Intel your extraction target would be in the outpost building furthest from your drop location. You had the building in sight but there was something off about the whole mission the remaining guard rotations were sparse for such a high value prisoner.  
Your target was a fellow elite Diamond Dog soldier, codename Bishop, you two had known each other for years but you didn’t do field work together you preferred to work alone. You never used to go out into the field alone but after a certain mission ended in heartbreak you swore that you would complete your missions alone; you wouldn’t allow a repeat of your mistakes. A mistake that would haunt you forever but this wasn’t the time for that. You moved through the remaining soldiers and took them out with ease and yet your trepidation continued. At last, you made it to the final outpost building; it was dark and unnervingly quiet. You turned your communicator back on but got nothing but static; the signal was being disrupted by something or someone.  
You silently pushed the door of the outpost open and scanned the room with your gun drawn. Toward the back of the room you saw a dark figure slumped over; you cautiously approached the figure and reached out to check for a pulse. It was a huge mistake because as soon as you jostled the figure you realized that it wasn’t in fact a person but a dummy. The dummy was rigged to some sort of device that started ticking feverishly and at that point your legs had a mind of their own; once you realized that you had just tripped a bomb. You barely made it through the doors before the building blew up sending you flying forward into one of the compound’s many heavy metal buildings. You felt the excruciating pain of the towering flames and a sudden sharp pain tore through your shoulder and left leg. It was almost a white hot pain intense enough to momentarily blind you as it burned from the inside out. When you started to come back around you heard the unmistakable sound of helicopter blades; looked toward the sound in horror.  
You recognized the helicopter immediately, it was meant to be your form of evacuation once you had your target in tow. You hadn’t called for an Evac and the helicopter was landing too close to the compound; there was someone behind this they knew about your mission and your intended target. This mission was bound to fail before it even started and you could only watch in horror as the events played out before your eyes. Two rooftops away you saw a soldier pulling himself up and cradling a large gun on his shoulder; you were too far away and you were unable to move your right arm leaving you unable to take down the enemy soldier. He fired off a single rocket with enough accuracy to demolish the helicopter’s propellers and send it crashing down into base below. The resulting explosion was so large that it effortlessly leveled half of the compound and left you in utter shock.  
You had to pull yourself back to reality and make your way out of this damned compound because there was obviously something jamming your communicator’s signal and you needed to distance yourself from it. You were so wrapped up in the loss of your Evac team that you hadn’t taken the time to properly evaluate your injuries. Your left leg was bleeding but you could still move and hopefully put pressure on it so that you could walk but your inspection of your right shoulder was a little more gruesome. Your shoulder was impaled upon a piece of metal foundation, belonging to one of the compound’s many buildings, which was now exposed due to the first explosion. There was no way around it you were going to have to pull yourself free and find another way back to Mother base.  
You were close enough to another piece of exposed foundation so you eagerly wrapped your left hand around it and pulled yourself forward slightly to test the resistance coming from your shoulder. You let out a sharp sob in response as your shoulder shifted lightly around the metal rod; if this miniscule action was this painful then you needed to be prepared for the worst. Forcing the air from your lungs, you bit into your bottom lip and tightened your already white knuckle grip on the foundation. With as much strength and courage as you could muster you pulled yourself forward and managed to separate your shoulder from the metal bar. The cry that you let out was guttural and almost disembodied but it was barely audible through the now deafening ringing in your ears. You fell forward and sobbed as you slowly came back to yourself; thankfully you had enough foresight to pack a bandage in case of an immediate injury. Pulling the bandage from your pocket you wrapped it tightly around your shoulder to stave off any further blood loss; you gripped one end with you left hand and the other was placed between your teeth, in order to tie it off.  
With the absolute worst of the pain now over you got to your feet and dragged yourself forward out of the rubble. The compound was quiet so you could assume that there were no reinforcements on their way to finish you off. Further away from the smoking wreckage of the evacuation helicopter were several cars that you immediately made a beeline for. The keys were thankfully in the ignition, a small bit of relief in the hell that you now found yourself in; you twisted the key in the ignition but faltered when it came time to put the car in drive. You were going to have to use your right arm but the memory of the pain you experienced stopped you. You took a steadying breath, “Come on, Y/N. Get your ass in gear!”  
Without a second thought you shifted into drive and grimaced as a wave of pain splintered up and down the length of your arm. You drove a good distance into the Afghanistan desert before testing your communicator once again and to your utter relief your message went through. You relayed your status and received the coordinates of the new landing zone not far from your current position. This time when you heard the sound of helicopter propellers it was the most comforting sound that you had ever heard.  
You finally made it back to mother base and were immediately given serious medical attention; your list of injuries was long but nothing life-threatening. You had shrapnel in your left leg, a few first degree burns, two bruised ribs, and the obvious and rather large hole in your right shoulder. When you had initially arrived back at Mother Base you had a short debriefing over the events of your mission but that was over a week ago. Thanks to the incredibly progressive medical care offered to you, you had been discharged with only the lingering aches and pains of your grievous injuries. You were eager to get back into the swing of things and return to carrying out your missions but you were being summoned and that usually didn’t mean anything good. You filed into what looked like a warehouse to find your commanding officer standing with someone you had never seen before; both men turned toward you as you approached.   
Your Commanding officer reached out for your hand, you gave his hand a firm shake, “L/N, good to see you. How’s your recovery progressing?”   
You smiled hesitantly, “It’s going just fine, sir. Thank you for asking.”  
He segued smoothly into the next topic, “L/N, let me introduce Kazuhira Miller. Miller this is Y/N L/N, codename Tempest.”  
You reached out and shook his hand, as well, “It’s an honor to meet you, sir.”  
He shook your hand but got right down to business, “I’m going to get right down to it because you’re probably wondering why you’ve been called here. I’m here to enlist your help on a top priority evacuation mission. We could use someone with your level of expertise on this.”  
Well that wasn’t nearly as bad as you thought it was going to be but recent events still had you pausing. You looked between both men before answering, “Sir, with all due respect, my last mission was less than stellar. In fact, by all accounts it was an irredeemable disaster; I don’t know that I should be a prime candidate for this mission. I don’t know the specifics but my record is shot after that last debacle.”  
You saw the hint of a smile play across his lips, “True, your last mission didn’t go as you had planned. However, you couldn’t have known that it was a set up and your record that as you’ve said is now shot… looks pretty damn spotless; from the outside looking in. One failure won’t define you unless you roll over and let it. We’re all eager to give you this chance because we believe in you and your abilities and we feel that you’re the only one that could handle it.”  
You turned that over in your head and sighed; you had wanted to dive straight back into your work and if someone had this much faith in you without even really knowing you… then you owed it to them to at least try. You slowly nodded your head, “Okay. I accept… do I at least get the specifics of the mission, sir?”  
He motioned for you to follow him so you fell into step quickly and descended further into the base. He spoke only loud enough for you to hear, “I know that you’ve been recovering for a short time but I’m sure it hasn’t escaped your noticed that a large portion of our soldiers have fallen ill.” It was true in the past few weeks a large portion of Mother Base’s population had fallen ill but the circumstances of the illness were unknown. Miller continued to talk, “Frankly we have no idea what brought the illness on and we haven’t completely ruled out that this isn’t a twisted method of biological warfare. We’re assuming that Skull Face is the one behind this but we’ve yet to directly confirm that. We’ve received Intel regarding your extraction target; refer to him as Codetalker, which may hold the key to putting a stop to this illness before its claims more of our men. The need to know information is in this file I would suggest reading through it before you depart.”  
You took the file from his hands and vaguely flipped through it; it was rather lengthy so you had your work cut out for you. You looked back up at Miller, “Yes sir, when am I expected to depart?”  
His face remained impassive, “The two of you will depart from Mother Base at 1600 hours tomorrow evening.”  
Your eyes nearly bulged, “Forgive me sir but I execute my missions alone; I don’t work with partners or companions. Surely my Commanding Officer has informed you of this.”  
His features didn’t falter from its stoic mask, “L/N, I’m aware of the situation; I’ve read your file. Believe me, more than anyone I understand your position on the matter but this is non-negotiable… you will be working with a partner on this mission.”   
You took a deep breath and tried to calm your frayed nerves, “Understood sir, if I may… who is it that I’ll be working with on this mission?”  
For some reason that caused him to chuckle, “You’re going to be working with the Boss on this one. Get some sleep, L/N. You’re to rendezvous with Big Boss on the main platform at 1600 hours.”  
Well, shit! You had only heard rumors and tall tales about Big Boss but you had never actually seen him. And now you were expected to accompany the notorious leader of the Diamond Dogs. You decided to attempt to not overthink the situation and instead return to the barracks and prepare. You read over the case file that Miller gave you; several times until you knew the information like the back of your hand. You got as much sleep as you were physically able to get and proceeded to suit up before heading out to the main platform. You strapped your weapons into your belt and lingered longer than usual on your sniper rifle; it was the weapon you were most familiar with but also the weapon that proved to be problematic for you.  
As you approached the main platform you saw a group of soldiers crowding around the landing zone; you were able to pick out Miller from the crowd and the man standing next to him had to be Big Boss. He was a middle-aged man that looked like he had been through absolute hell, it was hard to ignore the obvious signs of his battle experience; he was missing one eye and one of his hands. He had extensive scarring around his face but it was hard to survive a career in the military without collecting a few scars; you certainly had a few of your own.   
You confidently approached both men and gave them a salute, Miller returned the gesture before addressing you, “L/N, allow me to introduce you to Big Boss.”  
The man before you extended his hand and you shook it, “It’s an honor to meet you, sir.”  
The man in question gave a firm nod and a gruff reply, “Likewise, L/N.” Obviously a man of few words, that ended up being the extent of your conversation for the moment. You didn’t mind too much considering you were still feeling slightly anxious over the mission.   
You both climbed onto the helicopter and strapped in before you slowly left Mother Base behind. You had always found the ocean to be peaceful and it ended up being your focus as you slowly made your way to the new landing zone. It was a lengthy trip but you endured and eventually made it to the darkened tree lines just outside of the enemy’s compound; a single horse was waiting to carry you both to the compound. You realized that it was difficult to transport just one horse so sharing said horse wasn’t a big deal; in fact you were expecting to walk the ten clicks so it was a welcome surprise. Big Boss helped pull you onto the horse before taking off at brisk pace.  
By the time you reached the tree lines something didn’t feel right; the hairs on the back of your neck were standing up and you could have sworn you saw something moving in the distance. A moment later you saw movement again it was quick, too quick to be an animal, you decided to raise your concern, “Boss, we need to move faster. We’re not alone I’m detecting enemy movement further into the vegetation.”  
He turned his head toward the trees, “What-“ Before anything else could be said you saw the glint of something metallic and a single shot rang out and flew by you. The horse that you were riding got spooked by the proximity of the bullet and reared back throwing both of you back onto the ground before running off. You picked yourself off the ground and instinctively you grabbed the back of Big Boss’ uniform effectively hauling him up and into cover.   
Miller’s voice came in over the communicator confirming that you were facing the Skulls and that Skull Face was indeed behind the attacks. You pulled the sniper rifle from your back and focused on the tree line waiting for any kind of movement. The Skulls didn’t disappoint; for all of their superior skill they still made mistakes and ended up giving away their position. You were caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse, exchanging bullets back and forth, but your skill managed to bring you out of the skirmish in triumphant victory. When the din finally died out, you did a final sweep of the area through your scope, “I think that was all of them but let’s stay cautious; there could always be one waiting for an opening.  
You journeyed the rest of the distance on foot without any further incidents but the compound that you came upon was vast, well-lit, and well defended. Big Boss motioned for you to take the right side of the compound to which you quickly agreed, slipping into the shadows easily. You encountered a soldier near a side entrance and you were able to sneak up behind him, pressing your knife against his throat, “You are holding a man hostage, Codetalker, where is he?”  
The man’s voice began to waver, instantly giving away his fear, “They’re holding him in the basement, the bottom most level of the structure. Please just let me go.” You knocked the soldier out and let him fall to the ground with a thud before slipping into the complex.   
You neutralized your targets quickly and ended up rendezvousing with Big Boss in a matter of minutes, “Codetalker is being held on the last level in the basement. We should hurry before any reinforcements decide to investigate.” No more needed to be said and you were off in an instant, carefully surveying each level as you went by. There were candles everywhere and the amount only increased as you traveled further down, however, the room in which Codetalker was being held had by far the most candles. You instantly recognized Codetalker from the photo in his file; he was an older man with intricately decorated greying hair and clouded eyes. He beckoned the two of you forward and began to tell his story regarding the mysterious illness that has struck your fellow soldiers.  
What he told you was horrifying and also disheartening, the illness was caused by a species of parasite that attaches itself to the vocal chords and multiplies rapidly. The parasites choose hosts that speak certain languages and slowly eat away at the lungs of the host. What was even worse was the fact that there was no cure. Codetalker had the ability to prevent the onset of the parasite but there was essentially no cure for those already infected. Convincing Codetalker to create this vaccine was rather easily done and soon Big Boss had him slung across his shoulders as you took point and ensured that the path was clear.  
When you reached the first floor of the complex you were met with the sight of dozens of soldiers roaming the complex. The idea wouldn’t not be preposterous if the soldiers hadn’t died nearly twenty minutes ago during your first sweep. The soldiers had an odd gait that was rigid and slow as if their limbs suddenly weighed a hundred pounds. They turned feral when they caught sight of you; you quickly jabbed your knife into the soldier’s chest but that only seemed to throw him slightly off balance. You pulled your sidearm out and fired of five shots each nailing the intended target sending them to the ground. You switched your communicator on, “This is Tempest, come in, I need an immediate Evac on my position.”  
Barreling through the main entrance brought the unwelcome glimpse of dozens of reanimated soldiers milling about the grounds. This time it was Big Boss’ turn to speak, “There are too many of them… we’re going to need to make our way to the Evac zone and avoid direct conflict. I need you to provide cover fire.”  
You nodded in understanding as you pushed your way through the hoard of soldiers only engaging them when they attempted to attack. The landing zone had been pushed forward so the walk wasn’t as bad as the trip to the compound; you breathed a sigh of relief once you were on board the helicopter. You helped Codetalker into one of the many available seats before sitting down and replaying the mission over inside of your head. You didn’t have long to think about the mission because something caught your eye; a thick mist rolled in engulfing the helicopter.  
The mist was too thick so you needed to close the doors and things went downhill quickly after that; it was impossible but a body smashed into the door sending you flying backwards. How the hell did that body collide with the helicopter? Your altitude was too high for any normal trajectory and then you heard the sharp crack of glass and an alarm as the helicopter began to lose altitude quickly. Both pilots slumped forward and you darted to the front of the helicopter desperately trying to pull the aircraft up. You were honestly wondering why you had such terrible luck when it came to Evac helicopters.  
The helicopter was losing altitude too quickly and you couldn’t pull up in time; it collided with the ground and you went flying backwards briefly losing consciousness. When you came to you were lying face down in the wreckage and with great difficulty you were able to pick yourself up. You noticed that both Codetalker and Big Boss were unconscious but thankfully still breathing; you needed to get them out of the wreckage so you began with Codetalker. You were about to go back for Big Boss but he was already climbing out, “Are you okay, Boss?”  
He nodded his head, “Yeah, I’m alright. What about you?’  
You quickly surveyed yourself but you didn’t find any major injuries, “I think I’ll live but we’re going to need another Evac and we’re going to need it soon.” Miller didn’t have the best news when you checked in; apparently the fog was causing a major disruption. Meaning, your Evac was postponed until you could break the disruption; which was easier said than done. You saw movement in the base directly ahead of you and it was a sobering sight. A large group of the soldiers, like the ones you had encountered at the last compound, began pouring out of the base and heading towards you. If you could make it up to the roof behind you then you were certain that you could pick off the soldiers one by one. You looked over at Big Boss, “I’m going to head for higher ground so I can have a better vantage point. Can you handle Codetalker and protect him?”  
He barely had time to affirm your plan before you were sprinting toward the rusted ladder; scurrying up onto the roof. The new vantage point had its benefits and you were easily able to pick off the puppet like soldiers. There were so many of them that you were worried that you could possibly run out of ammo before they ran out of bodies to reanimate. It was hard fought but the two of you were able to fend off the attack and mercifully your Evac finally arrived.   
You had never been so happy to be back on Mother Base and due to the success of your mission you and Big Boss were given a hero’s welcome. You didn’t care about the praise, you were instead simply glad that Codetalker’s presence could mean the chance for a cure to the debilitating parasite strain. Before you had a chance to relax you were pulled into another debriefing with Big Boss, Miller, and Ocelot. You relayed the events of the mission as accurately as you could and soon enough your superior’s were satisfied enough; enough to let you go so they could seek out Codetalker. Big Boss stayed behind and eyed you carefully, “L/N, I heard from Miller that you were opposed to the idea of working in teams. What is it about working with a partner that you dislike so greatly?”  
You sighed and rubbed your eyes, this was always your least favorite conversation to have, “Surely Miller briefed you about my history before the mission. There’s really not much to tell, Boss.”  
His gaze hardened, “I want us to be able to trust each other but that entails some sort of honesty. Don’t make me pull your file. I’d rather hear it from you.”  
That was a fair point as much as you hated to admit it; trust was difficult for you to foster especially given your history. You took a deep breath and pulled the collar of your shirt down revealing the large and jagged scar that stretched from the right side of your neck all the way across your collarbone. The scar was a part of your collection, joined by the scar you had received on your last mission. Once he had a good look at your scar you let go of your collar, “It has to do with how I got this scar it was what seems like ages ago; back when I was a sniper. Before I became a ground level operator and before I started working alone I had a company partner who acted as my spotter, his codename was Deacon. We were working a particularly hard mission along the Angola-Zaire border; I had a target in my sights and I didn’t want to lose him so I ignored Deacon’s suggestion to move to another position. I was so stuck in my own world that I didn’t bother listening to Deacon’s request and it haunts me to this day.”  
You let out a breath and continued, “When I refused to move I didn’t know that the enemy had our position and in a matter of seconds Deacon was shot; he died in my arms gasping for air. Just after he took his last breath I was shot and my collarbone was shattered; I was bleeding too heavily to reach for my communicator and call for help. I thought that I was dying and in that moment I was ready to die but fate had other plans. My squadron was able to pull my coordinates and Evac me; but I had a hard time living with that and I still do. It was my mistake that got Deacon killed… I lived and one of my best friends was sent home in a box.”  
There was sympathy and compassion in Big Boss’ eyes, “L/N, that wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t have known…”  
You scoffed lightly, “Yeah I’ve been hearing that a lot lately but the truth is… I should have known. I should have known better and I should have trusted my partner’s instinct and look where that got me. I’m alive but I’m faced with the guilt of the life Deacon could and should have lived. I chose to continue serving my country but I would not be putting anyone else at risk because of my mistakes.”  
Big Boss nodded solemnly, “Look L/N, losing the people we care most about is a hard truth that we need to learn to live with. It happens every day but we have to stay strong and fight for the days that we them here and fight for the days that are to come. You can’t torture yourself over what could have been. You didn’t kill Deacon, the man on the other side of that gun did. You are a top notch soldier, you even saved my ass a couple times back there, and I also know that Deacon wouldn’t be blaming you for his death. So don’t think that for a moment that you need to walk this road on you own.”  
You did your best to compose yourself before saluting, a tad dramatic but you did it anyway, “Thank you, Boss. I will take my leave, now.”  
He quirked a rare smile, “For god’s sake, just call me Snake. If we’re going to be working together then we might as well get comfortable around each other.”  
You paused, “Working together? I was under the impression that this was a singular occurrence, Bo- I mean, Snake.”  
He gave you a dry chuckle, “Get some rest, L/N.”  
As it turned out you ended up being put into the regular rotation of companions that assisted Snake on his missions. You got to work with the legendary Big Boss quite a lot and soon your anxieties about working in a team began to melt away.   
It was over a month later that you decided to watch the sunrise from Mother Base; you were sitting on top of the roof of the barracks. You were enjoying the beautiful pink and orange hues explode across the sky while drinking coffee; which admittedly tasted like soap. You were dressed casually, having just woken up; your hair was cascading down your back, you were wearing a basic white undershirt, cargo pants, and boots. You heard a set of footsteps approaching but judging by the silence it was probably just the guard rotation. The footsteps stopped right behind you, so turned around and saw Big Boss standing there and looking down at you. You quickly stood up, leaving your coffee on the floor; you saluted him, “Good Morning, Boss. I’m sorry I was just leaving.”  
Before you could get away a strong arm reached out and stopped you, his voice was almost gentle, “Y/N, it’s alright I just wanted to see you. So just relax.”  
Hearing him say your name caused your face to flush like some naïve schoolgirl, and the fact that he was looking for had your heart rate picking up. For heaven’s sake! He’s your boss, you needed to control yourself, and he may have wanted to see you for a number of reasons. You tried to stop the heat in your cheeks from spreading, “I was just up here watching the sunset before my day starts; the calm before the storm, so to speak. But what is it that you needed from me, Snake?”  
He gave a small throaty laugh, which is something he should do more often, “You’ve been asking for a bit of my story but it’s something that I didn’t want to keep reliving.”  
You chuckled before putting on your best impersonation of him, “Don’t make me pull your file. I’d rather hear it from you.”  
He gave another chuckle, “I knew that was going to come back to bite me in the ass.” You both laughed, “Well for now let’s start with some of the basics; why we’re here. About ten years ago Skull Face savagely killed and maimed my men and he made several attempts on my life. Truthfully this whole war against Skull Face was initially meant for revenge but now as we move along; I’m not sure that this is all strictly about vengeance or justice… or what.”  
You looked at him in awe and he caught on quickly, “What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?”  
You laughed out loud, “I’m sorry it’s just… compared to our first meeting I don’t think I’ve ever heard you be so open. You’re usually quiet and stoic; a man of few words.”   
You continued to laugh but he walked away, calling over his shoulder, “Come on, Y/N. We have a mission departure at 0700 hours.” As he walked away, you couldn’t but think how good that sounded. We.

*Comments and Feedback are always appreciated * :)


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